A video of Kamala Harris screaming was viewed more than a million times in Chinese social media posts, which falsely claimed it showed the vice president’s reaction to her impending defeat in the US election as results began to demonstrate that Donald Trump was on his way to a second presidential term. The video was actually taken at a rally in Texas before Election Day. Harris delivered a defiant concession speech after Trump’s victory was announced as he vowed to help his transition to power.
“Harris’ momentum was over and she panicked during the meeting. She couldn’t laugh anymore,” read a simplified Chinese X-post shared on November 7, 2024.
In the video, Harris shouts and gestures to a crowd, who can be heard chanting, “We’re not going back.”
Screenshot of the fake X-post, captured on November 15, 2024
The same video was shared alongside similar claims on Weibo and TikTok as results began to show Trump leading Harris in the US elections on November 5 (archived link).
“Who wouldn’t be upset if he lost like this?” Read a comment from a user suggesting they believed the video showed Harris on election night.
“The look on her face tells you the election situation,” wrote another.
Trump later claimed a “magnificent” victory over the vice president before the final results were known (archived link).
The victory gives him almost complete control of the levers of the US government as Republicans have added the House of Representatives to their victories in the White House and Senate (archived link).
On November 7, Harris delivered a defiant concession speech in Washington after Trump’s stunning victory, telling tearful supporters in Washington not to “despair” and urging them to “keep fighting” after her loss (archived links here and here ).
Her pledge to ensure a peaceful transfer stood in stark contrast to Republican Trump’s unprecedented refusal to concede defeat to Joe Biden four years ago, culminating in a violent attack by his supporters on the US Capitol.
The circulating video shows Harris at a campaign rally in October 2024, before the election.
Abortion rights rally
AFP discovered the clip was taken during an October 25, 2024 election rally, by comparing Harris’ outfit and a backdrop with “Freedom” on it to videos from previous events.
ABC affiliate television station WFAA published footage of the event, sharing the clip online from a timestamp of four minutes and 58 seconds (archived link).
Harris’ speech was interrupted at one point when the crowd chanted “we’re not going back,” as seen in the WFAA video and in a transcript published by the White House (archived link).
Eleven days before the final vote, Harris was banking on her star-studded show – featuring superstar Beyoncé and 91-year-old country legend Willie Nelson – to bring abortion to the forefront of voters’ minds (archived link).
“We are 11 days away from an election that will decide the future of America, including every woman’s freedom to make decisions about her own body and her reproductive freedom,” she said after her speech was interrupted.
“And as we look beyond that, we understand that what we need to do, Texas, is right here, you, who are ground zero in the fight for reproductive freedom, we need to be loud.
“Texas is home to one of the most restrictive abortion bans in our country.”
Trump ultimately won the election in Texas, receiving 40 electoral votes, with a reportedly historic margin of more than a million votes (archived links here and here).
Here, AFP has debunked a wave of misinformation surrounding the US elections.
